The 2020 NBA Draft: Year of the Pandemic

It’s that time of year again……DRAFT TIME! Well not really, usually the NBA draft is in June but due to the pandemic, the delay in play with the covid lockdown, the bubble and the late playoffs and finals here we are with a fall version of the draft. Regardless of the timing of this year’s event the draft still carries all the intrigue, excitement and rumors of its summer time predecessors. The familiar questions abound with who will go where, will teams trade up or down in draft order, will your favorite team get the right piece to add to the team and which prospects will be styling the best suits? It’s also the time young men get to live out that dream they had since grade school or younger to make it to the National Basketball Association.

Cole Anthony

Anthony was pegged as a top-3 prospect before the season, his stock has decreased a lot but he has ample time to make the teams that pass up on him regret they did. Photo courtesy of fansided.com

One prospect to keep an eye or two on is Cole Anthony, a University of North Carolina point guard by way of New York City (Archbishop Molly High School) with a quick pit stop in Virginia (Oak Hill Academy). Anthony in my opinion carries a lot of the tools needed to succeed in today’s NBA. Standing at 6’3 and weighing in at 190 pounds, Cole can stand to add a little more strength without losing any speed or his explosive first step. A very heady and intelligent floor general that has the guidance and in house well of experience to pull from in his father Greg Anthony who himself was a former NBA point guard for the Knicks, Grizzlies, Sonics, Blazers, Bulls and Bucks which came after a great college career at UNLV where Greg played for and learned from one of the great basketball minds in Jerry Tarkanian aka Tark the Shark. With those types of genes it’s no surprise Cole Anthony has racked up so many accolades thus far in his young career. Projections have Cole Anthony going in the first round with the 21st pick to the 76ers.

Precious Achiuwa

Precious Achiuwa will shock a lot of people in the NBA. He can really play. His size, strength and athleticism will take him far. Photo Mark Weber/Daily Memphian

Another kid jumping onto the draft scene is Precious Achiuwa, a 6’9 225lb Power Forward out of the University of Memphis. Another NYC kid from the Bronx that finished his high school playing days in the Sunshine State of Florida. Precious is a super explosive forward with a ridiculous 7’2 plus wingspan and crazy bounce who averaged 15.8 points per game, 10.8 rebounds per game and 1.9 blocks during a very impressive freshman year of college. With rumors pointing to Achiuwa going #16 overall to Portland I see him developing into a very important role player piece on a team. I could honestly see him as a key third or fourth option that plays defense against other teams small forwards and stretch fours, while getting out on the break for Dame Time to throw him a lob or two.

Deni Avdija

Deni Avdija, 19 years old and 6 feet, 9 inches (2.06 meters) tall, has a realistic chance of being among the top five players picked this week. If so, he’ll be by far the highest selected Israeli in NBA Draft history. Photo courtesy of Eurohoops.com

Of course no draft article or conversation about future NBA prospects would be complete without touching on the international names entered in the draft. One kid off the top that has caught the attention of a lot of scouts is Deni Avdija, a 6’9 210 pound small forward from Israel that has drawn comparisons to Hedo Turkoglu, this young man can also play shooting guard and has the passing ability and basketball IQ to become a good point forward in the future.

Killian Hayes

Hayes’s combination of age, skill level, and free-throw accuracy offer an upside despite his limited athleticism. Photo by DeFodi Images/Getty Images

Killian Hayes is a tall, lanky, left handed point guard from France that has shown the early signs of being a combo guard once he develops his outside shot but currently is a smooth lead guard with good body control. And last but not least is Leandro Bolmaro from Argentina that is buzzing around the back end of the first round. A combo guard that stands at 6’6 and reads the scale at 180lbs, this young man can shoot from outside, run the team from the point and handles the ball very well.

At the end of the day every team hopes to hit their goal in the draft, whatever that might be. Somes teams are looking for a cornerstone to build the franchise around, others want a missing piece to go along with what they already have and then you got the hopeful picks of the second round that will most likely end up in the G- League but still have promise and dreams to be that coal that will be squeezed into the next diamond and get that call up to the Association. Which is what all these prospects want at the end of the day, no matter where they came from or what team calls their name. They all want to live out their childhood dream.